Cook says during the interview that tech companies are fixated with "making the most." He says it's "almost a disease."

Here's Cook:

There's this thing in technology, almost a disease, where the definition of success is making the most. How many clicks did you get, how many active users do you have, how many units did you sell? Everybody in technology seems to want big numbers. Steve never got carried away with that. He focused on making the best.

Cook says Apple doesn't think about numbers. Instead, he says, it asks, "What are the primary technologies behind this? What do we bring? Can we make a significant contribution to society with this?" Cook says if a technology can't make a big difference, the company doesn't pursue it.

Cook spoke to Fast Company as part of a wave of press for a new book about Steve Jobs' life set to be released later this month. Apple cooperated with the writers of "Becoming Steve Jobs," and the company is presenting it as the "best portrayal" of its cofounder.

Apple is keen to promote the new book about Jobs, particularly as it is angry over a documentary about his life set to debut on CNN next year. "Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine," was directed by Alex Gibney, the filmmaker who also recently released a documentary about Scientology. It was reported that Apple employees walked out of a screening of the movie, and Apple executive Eddy Cue sent some angry tweets about the documentary, too: